Entropy
by deathbyexcess
Summary: A blight in the south is threatening Ferelden. The Gray Wardens come to seek troops from Highever to give aid. Will Ferelden be saved? And at what cost?


"Don't worry," I said. "I've done this before." I must have had the most self-deprecating grin upon my lips. The fact is, I'm used to being questioned. Once. I know I'm indulgent to the guards when I entertain their dares. What would my father think?

I raised the spider high, two of its legs pinned between my gloved fingertips. It writhed and squirmed. I wonder if it knew its fate. Such a noble little thing, really, weaving its webs and devouring all the other insects that like to bite and sting. Before my men had a chance to see, I pinched it just a little bit – just enough so that the guts wouldn't spill out – and then popped it into my mouth like a piece of candy.

They looked _horrified_.

What would my _mother_ think?

Ser Gilmore, the good man he was, burst out into laughter. The others soon followed suit though with a mixture of churlish groans and admiring looks of disgust. One of the guard recruits was brave enough to ask how it tasted.

I smirked and placed a hand upon my hip, jutting it out cockily. "Like chicken," I ventured. What I didn't want to say was that I had a leg stuck in my back molar. My tongue writhed and pried it free.

They groaned loudly.

"And that is why our lady Magdalene is one of the most feared warriors in Highever," Ser Gilmore proclaimed. He always liked to end training sessions with the guards on a high note. Discipline was paramount, of course, but they always seemed to perform best when motivated by positive leadership. Though he was young, only a few years older than me, he seemed sage and wise and _powerful_. Red hair and fair eyes aside, I thought of him much like a brother. A tall, incredibly attractive brother.

The guards began to round up their equipment. As was their custom after practice, they began to move back to their barracks and the stables to clean and prepare for their upcoming shifts.

As was our practice, Gilmore and I trekked toward the castle proper. That is, until we saw _them_. A few men in what appeared to be finely crafted armor and winged helmets stalked across the grounds. They did nothing to call attention to themselves, but the way they walked, the way they held themselves was enough to scream, "Hello, I'm lethal." I stopped in my tracks and stared at them, slack-jawed.

"Oh, so you haven't seen them yet have you?" Gilmore said, stopping just short of running me over with my unpredictable pause. "Gray Wardens."

I'm fairly sure my dark brown eyes were as wide as saucers by this point. "_Wardens_? Really? Where are their griffons?" I blurted out, then immediately regretted asking such a ridiculous question. Griffons were fairy tales. These men were very real.

Gilmore chuckled, clearly amused by my blunder. "Those are all extinct you know. But yes, those are Gray Wardens. They've come here to join your brother and our forces as they move down south to battle the darkspawn," he informed me. He adjusted his weight from one foot to the other, and then settled his shoulder next to mine. His eyes took on an uncharacteristically hungry look. "The teyrn says that their leader, Duncan, is interested in recruiting me."

I looked up at him dumbfounded, like he had just told me he won the lottery and yet had his house burn down at the same time. "_What_? No! You can't leave me, too," I groaned.

He hadn't needed to remind me. It was said that the darkspawn were poised to unleash a brutal attack aimed straight at Orzammar in the south-central portion of Ferelden. King Cailan himself was rallying as many troops as possible from, well, everywhere. It was even said that he was expecting soldiers to arrive from Orlais, though no one would trust them if they did show, and it seemed as if they would be coming late. My father, the teyrn of Highever, had promised many troops in addition to his son, my brother Fergus, who would command our forces. I hadn't even thought that Ser Gilmore would be amongst them even though it made sense.

Still, I am sometimes a selfish girl and how dare he and my brother get to run off without me?

Gilmore favored me with a brilliant smile, flashing his pearly whites in the way that made me wish he wasn't Ser Gilmore and instead Bann Gilmore so he could be my suitor and not the other bores my mother forced on me. "We won't be gone for long, I promise," he said, then returned his gaze to the Wardens. "Think of it, though. Me – a Gray Warden! It would be a dream come true. Fighting darkspawn all day."

My brows knit together. I, too, turned and watched the Wardens as they entered the main gate. "I guess so," I said. And then, in typical fashion, I tried to make a poor excuse as to why he shouldn't. "It just seems so…messy."

He slapped me hard on my armored shoulder. "Says the girl who just ate a bug!"

We both burst out into carefree laughter and shoved thoughts of war and darkspawn aside. A routine is a routine. Gilmore and I set off for the armory to clean our gear.


End file.
